CHEMICAL SENSING SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A photo-thermal interferometric spectroscopy system that provides information about a chemical at a remote location, comprising:
- a light detector system positioned remotely from the chemical, the detector system having a matrix of optical elements focusing portions of a received light beam on input waveguides of an optical combiner;
the combiner adjusting the phases of the received beam portions and combining them together, wherein the phases of the beam portions are adjusted to maximize the intensity of an output beam;
a detector detecting the output beam; and
a digital signal processing unit, connected to the detector, recovering information about at least one of, absorption spectrum and concentration of the chemical.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A photo-thermal, interferometric spectroscopy system is disclosed that provides information about a chemical, such as explosives and the like, at a remote location. It may be used for solid residue detection on a surface. The system includes a novel light detector system with a matrix of optical elements focusing portions of a received light beam on input waveguides of an optical combiner. The combiner adjusts the phases of the received beam portions and combines them together to maximize the intensity of an output beam. The output beam is detected by a detector, and information about at least one of, absorption spectrum and concentration of the chemical is recovered. In the preferred embodiment the detector is a coherent detector based on 90-degrees optical hybrid.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A photo-thermal interferometric spectroscopy system that provides information about a chemical at a remote location, comprising:
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a light detector system positioned remotely from the chemical, the detector system having a matrix of optical elements focusing portions of a received light beam on input waveguides of an optical combiner; the combiner adjusting the phases of the received beam portions and combining them together, wherein the phases of the beam portions are adjusted to maximize the intensity of an output beam; a detector detecting the output beam; and a digital signal processing unit, connected to the detector, recovering information about at least one of, absorption spectrum and concentration of the chemical. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for determining information about a chemical at a remote location, comprising:
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receiving at least a part of a light beam passed through the chemical; compensating phase distortions in the light beam passed through the chemical by adjusting portions of the received beam using a beam combiner; detecting an output signal from the beam combiner and measuring a phase shift of the light beam being indicative of at least one of, absorption spectrum and concentration of the chemical. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification